GDHQNHL15_2pg-L.A. Kings 2

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the ice, they have defensemen
who do the same thing. Alec
Martinez was not only the man
who won the Stanley Cup, he was
a very solid two-way defenseman
throughout the season, scoring 11
goals and playing solid defense.
The same could be said of Slava
Voynov, who chipped in with 30
assists. Jake Muzzin has a good
shot as well and made a nice
improvement on defense in his
second NHL season.
With Mitchell gone, Robyn
Regehr and Matt Greene
will take over as the top defensive options. Both players are big,
physical defensemen who are very tough to beat. Overall, the Kings
definitely have the pieces in place to be a very strong defensive
team once again.
Goaltending
One of the benefits of having such good defense is that it makes the
job of playing goalie quite a bit easier. That’s not to say that Jonathan
Quick isn’t an outstanding goalie, because he is. Two seasons after being
the Vezina Trophy runner-up, Quick posted outstanding numbers,
limiting opponents to just a 2.07 goals against average and a .915 save
percentage. While Quick wasn’t quite as stingy in the playoffs, he was
still solid enough to lead the Kings to their second Stanley Cup victory.
Quick’s backup will be Martin Jones, a player who filled in admirably
while Quick was injured. In 19 games, Jones limited opponents to an
anemic 1.81 goals against average while stopping shots at a rate of a .934
save percentage. Jones was so good in relief that he got Calder Trophy
consideration despite playing in just 19 games. With Quick as the starter
and Jones as the backup, the Kings are in good position to be the premier
puck stopping team in the NHL again.
Power Play
One of the reasons the Kings have struggled to score goals has
been a lack of success on the power play. With Drew Doughty, Alec
Martinez, Slava Voynov, and Jake Muzzin, the team doesn’t have a lack
of defensemen who are a threat to score from the blue line. The Kings
also have plenty of forwards with a track record of scoring, but for some
reason, they couldn’t put it all together in five-on-four situations. Overall,
the Kings scored on just 15.1 percent of their power plays, ranking
27th in the NHL.
The biggest problem in Los Angeles is a tendency for players to hold
onto the puck too long, waiting for opportunities that never develop.
However, the Kings were much more successful on the power play after
acquiring Marian Gaborik. They converted on 23.3 percent of their
power plays after adding Gaborik to the roster, and followed that up
with a 23.5 success rate in the playoffs. Expect the Kings to have a more
effective power play in the 2014-15 season.
Penalty Kill
While the Kings were a very strong team in terms of goal prevention
throughout the season, their penalty killing unit was merely good, but
not great. The Kings stopped opponents in 83.1 percent of penalty killing
situations, ranking 11th in the NHL in the process. Penalty killing is
where big, physical defensemen like Robyn Regehr and Matt Greene
shine, as they do a great job of both blocking the puck and separating
opponents from the puck.
Other players
who are a staple of
Kings penalty killing
include Anze Kopitar,
who is a master of
puck possession and
excellent at disrupting
passing lanes. Mike
Richards loves to fish
for shorthanded goal
scoring situations
while third-line
center Jarret Stoll is
also a go-to penalty
killing option. All of
these forwards are
strong defensively,
and combined, they
help give the Kings a
strong penalty killing
unit. The Kings should
be an above-average
penalty killing team
again this year.
Prediction
With a balanced and talented roster, the Kings should easily make
the playoffs and will be a threat to make a deep playoff run again.
However, repeating as Stanley Cup champions is a very difficult
task. The Kings will go far but fall short in the conference finals.
Scoreboard
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
PLAYOFF FINISH Stanley Cup Finals Conf Finals Stanley Cup Finals Conf QF Conf QF
REGULAR SEASON 46-28-8 27-16-5 40-27-15 46-30-6 46-27-9
POINT TOTAL 100 59 95 98 101
SHOOTOUT RECORD 8-6 2-4 6-9 10-2 10-8
GOALS SCORED 206 133 194 219 241
GOALS ALLOWED 174 118 179 198 219
POWER PLAY % 15.1 19.9 17.0 16.1 20.8
PENALTY KILL % 83.1 83.2 87.0 85.5 80.3
PENALTY KILL % 83.1% 83.2% 87.0% 85.5% 80.3%
Anze Kopitar
PHOTO/NHL/Getty Images